Pyramid deal with Bass Pro 'moving forward,' City Council told

An additional investment of nearly $20 million — to be paid for with federal funds and grants — would be required to bring The Pyramid up to code and meet current seismic requirements, city officials said.

The proposed deal with Bass Pro Shops to transform The Pyramid into a combination retail space and conservation exhibit is still on track, company officials told City Council members Tuesday.

However, an additional investment of nearly $20 million — to be paid with federal funds and grants — would be required to bring the building up to code and meet seismic requirements, city officials said.

"Hopefully, we can get this thing finished in the next 30 days or 60 days," said Bass Pro Shops president Jim Hagale, who gave council members an update via conference call. "The sooner the better as far as we are concerned.

"We've been going through this process for a very long time. There have been times along the way that we were pretty disappointed and disillusioned with our lack of ability to come to a conclusion on this.

"Recently I have felt more comfortable and confident. I feel that we can get this done."

Robert Lipscomb, the city director of Housing and Community Development, said he hopes to cement a deal with the Springfield, Mo.-based retailer in December or January.

In November, the City Council and Shelby County Commission gave Bass Pro 12 months to finish planning and gathering the necessary permits before signing a long-term lease on The Pyramid. Bass Pro agreed to make monthly payments of $35,000 and to pay a $500,000 penalty if it pulled out of the deal.

Bass Pro officials have been determining what needs to be done with the old arena before it can be transformed into a $100 million regional attraction that would include a retail shop devoted to outdoors goods and a conservation exhibit focusing on the Mississippi River.

Lipscomb said Tuesday that the city will have to make a "significant investment" of up to $19.7 million to bring the structure up to code and meet state seismic updates, but that those improvements would be funded with a mix of federal grants.

"We have said from day one that we wanted to do this project with no cost to taxpayers," Lipscomb said.

He said it would cost the city an estimated $4 million to $5 million to demolish the facility.

Hagale said Bass Pro founder John Morris has been involved in the discussions with the city over the last 90 days and that he is "excited" about the project, which has been four years in the making.

"I think we can do something very exciting there," said Hagale.

Council members uniformly praised Lipscomb and said they were pleased the project was still moving forward.

"Anything of this magnitude is not done overnight," said councilwoman Barbara Swearengen Ware. "I believe it is really going to be something all of us could all be proud of."